Door check and hold open



Dec."23, 1958 c; K. MILLER 2,355,045

DOOR CHECK AND HOLD OPEN Filed May 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.CALVIN K MILLER ATTORNEYS Dec. 23, 1958 c. K. MILLER 2,865,045

DOOR CHECK AND HOLD OPEN Filed May 18, 19 56 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INTOR.CALVIN K. MILLER A TTOPNEY S 2,865,045 noon enact; AND; HOLD OPEN CalvinK. Miller, Royal Oak, Mich, assignor to 8055 Manufacturing Company,Detroit, Mich., a, corporation of Maine Application May 18, 1956, SerialNo. 585,776 8 Claims. (Cl. 16140) as a hold open and for checking theclosing of the door combined with an inclined plane and compressionspring member to coact with one end of the coiled spring clutch to firstcause it to Wrap around the shaft' and thereby hold the door open in anyposition. sharp push or pull is initially exerted on the door, thecompression spring clutch is released and thenthe clutch sleeve takeshold of the other end of the coiled spring clutch and releases theclutch.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a'small fragmentary section of an automobile body showing inparticular the position of the door check and the hold open.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on line 2-2 of'Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the check and hold open when the door isin closed position.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation taken from a ninety degree angle to the viewin Fig. 3.

' Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a similar view to that shown in Fig. 4 of the door held inopen position. I

Fig. 7 is an elevation of a modified form.

Fig. 8 is another elevation of the modified form.

The appliance consists of the housing 1 which as viewed in Fig. 3 is aC-shaped'metal strap with a depending arm 2 which may be fastenedto thebody pillar or the door pillar. However, in the drawings the housing isshown fastened to the body pillar 2a, and the'arm 4functions in the doorpillar recess 5. The recess 5 comprises a slot in the door pillar, asshown in dotted linesin Fig. 3 5

and as'shown' in full lines in Fig: 2. Thefdo'or pillar has a shelf 6which carries the'pin' 7'which functions in the slot 8 of the arm 4.

Opening of the door causes pin 7 to rotate arm 4 and its rigidlyconnected shaft 9 in a counter-clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 2.The torsion spring 10 fits with a light gripping relation on the shaft9. In opening the door the end 11 of spring 10 is forced against thewall 12 of the bayonet slot 13 from which it projects. This loosens thetorsion spring when shaft 9 is turned by further opening of the door andpermits the shaft 9 to rotate easily. When the arm 4 is turned inclosing the door, it turns the shaft 9 and that carries with it the coilspring clutch 10 and the end 11 of this spring moves from the positionin Fig. 6 to the position in Fig. 4 and strikes the wall 12 of theC-shaped member 2. This But then when a 3 W ate easily.

In any position of opening the door is kept from closing because anyclosing movement causes pin 7 to rotate the arm 4 and shaft 9 in aclock-wise direction thereby forcing the spring end 11 to wrap moretightly around the shaft and thereby holding the door in this positionof opening.

The coil or torsion spring acts as a clutch to hold the door in anydifferent position of opening. This is the same action as takes placewith the coiled spring clutches that are now used in practically allwindow regulators on automobiles, but so far as I am aware this hasnever been used with door checks and hold opens.

In closing the door force has to be used because the spring end 11 isagainst the incline 15 on the bayonet slot, and suflicient force has tobe used to cause the spring end 11 to descend upon the incline 15forcing the spring 10, shaft 9, and arm 4 downward, relative to housing1, against the resistance of compression spring 16.

Compare Figs. 4 and 6. Fig. 4 shows the position of the parts when thedoor is in open position. Fig. 6

shows the position of the parts when the door is closing or closed. Inorder to start the door closing, the force exerted by the compressionspring 16 has to be overcome in the movement of the spring 10, shaft 9,and arm 4 from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown inFig. 6. The door has to be given more of a push than is customary forthe initial movement; but when the light resistance of the rather lightspring 16 has been overcome, then the spring end 17 strikes the edge 18of the slot 19 in the housing 1. This opens up the torsion spring or thewire spring clutch, and the door i free to be swung closed without anychecking resistance. This breaks the coupling between the pin 7, arm 4,housing 1 and the coiled spring clutch.

The shaft9'has a reduced portion 20 about which the coiled spring 16engages. The upper end of the reduced portion is threaded as at 21 totake the nut 22 Which screws on the end of the shaft and bears againstthe washer 24. The nut and the washer form an enlarged head on the upperend of the shaft to form a spring abutment. By turning the nut one wayor the other the length of the compression spring may be altered toalter the compression force and therefore the resistance to the breakingof the coupling between the turning parts and the coiled clutch spring.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 7 and 8 the door check and hold openis incorporated in the door hinge. The C-like housing In has a shallowS-like arm 25. This is pivotally secured by the stud 26 to hinge arm 27which in turn is secured to the door by means of screws or bolts nothere shown. The spindle 20a forms the knuckle pin of the door hinge. Thehinge butt 28 is secured to the body pillar by screws (not shown)passing through the openings 29. The hinge butt has an upper knuckle30and a lower knuckle 31 and intervening is the central knuckle 32 of thehinge arm 27.

The action of the torsion spring 16a and the spring ends and the bayonetslot with the inclined notch is exactly the same as heretofore describedin connection with a door check and hold open shown in Figs. 1-6inclusive. The only difference is that the shank 20a acts not only inconnection with the door check and hold open but becomes the knuckle pinfor the door hinge.

So it will be seen from the above description that a coiled springclutch such as has been used in window regulators is used as a doorcheck and a hold open but in quite a difierent way than the clutch isused in window regulators. Between the spring clutch and the actuatingmembers, to wit: the pin on the door, the swinging arm, the shaft, therehas been interposed a breakable coupling so that the resistance of thecoiled spring to the turning of the parts is nullified after an initialmovement in closing the door, thereby permitting easy closing withoutany resistance from the door check and the hold open after the initialclosing movement.

What I claim is:

1. A combined door check and hold open having in combination a housingfor attachment to a pillar and provided with two openings, a shaftprovided With a head at one end and arranged to turn in the housing, anarm secured on said shaft adapted to be connected to a door hinged onsaid pillar and displaced angularly with said shaft during opening ofthe door, a coiled spring clutch fitting on to the shaft in the housingand having ends projecting from the openings in the housing and therebyfree to move angularly with respect to the housing for a limiteddistance, a resilient compression member operating between the housingand the shaft head to resist axial movement of the shaft with respect tothe housing to thereby hold one end of the spring in engagement with aportion of the opening in the housing from which it projects and therebyprovide a breakable coupling between the arm and housing, which couplingnormally causes the housing to tend to wrap the clutch spring around theshaft and hold the door open, and means for overcoming the resistance ofthe compression member by forced movement of the shaft axially when aclosing force exerted on the door breaks this coupling and causesabutment with a portion of the opening from which it projects of theother end of the coiled spring clutch to open it and release the shaftso that the door can easily close.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which the compression member isa coiled spring surrounding one end of the shaft and having one endabutting the housing and the other end abutting the head on said end ofthe shaft, which head may turn and move axially to adjust the resistanceof the spring.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which one of the spring ends isadapted to move on an inclined wall in one of the openings in thehousing to thereby force the shaft axially against the resistance of thecompression member to free the spring end from contact with the inclinedwall of the slot, which causes the spring clutch in the initial dooropening movement to Wrap around the shaft, and then causes one wall ofthe other opening to abut the other end of the spring clutch and therebyopen I and release the clutch.

4. A door check and hold open for a door having a pillar and hinged on abody pillar having in combination a housing securable to one of thepillars on the body and door, a shaft secured in the housing to turntherein, an

pling breaking when a closing force is applied to the door, and suchbreaking of the coupling causing the other end of the spring to engagethe housing releasing the coiled spring from the shaft to thereby allowthe door to be swung easily closed after the initial effort is made toclose it.

5. The combination claimed in claim 4 in which the breakable couplingcomprises an inclined surface on the housing providing a drivingconnection of said one spring end to said surface in the closingmovement to move the shaft axially, and a spring for resisting suchmovement of the shaft.

6. The combination claimed in claim 5 in which the inclined surfaceconstitutes part of the upper notch of a bayonet slot, the spring endresting in the upper bayonet notch when the door is held open andtraveling down the inclined surface of the notch to cause the shaft tomove axially, and a coiled spring wound around the shaft above thehousing, said shaft having an enlarged head as an abutment against whichthe last named spring presses to push the shaft upward.

7. The combination claimed in claim 6 in which the shaft is a shankhaving a portion of small diameter with the small diameter portionthreaded at its end with a nut and washer forming the enlarged head ofthe shaft to adjust the resistance of the spring.

8. A combined door check and hold open having in combination a housingfor attachment to a pillar and provided with two openings, a shaftprovided with a head at one end and arranged to turn in the housing, anarm secured on said shaft adapted to be connected to a door hinged onsaid pillar and displaced angularly with said shaft during opening ofthe door, a hinge arm, a hinge butt, said hinge arm and said hinge butthaving knuckles secured thereon, said housing being fastened to saidbutt, said shaft passing through said knuckles to form the knuckle pinof the door hinge, a coiled spring clutch fitting on to the shaft in thehousing and having ends projecting from the openings in the housing andthereby free to move angularly with respect to the housing for a limiteddistance, a resilient compression member operating between the housingand the shaft head to resist axial movement of the shaft with respect tothe housing to thereby hold one end of the spring in engagement with aportion of the opening in the housing from which it projects and therebyprovide a breakable coupling between the arm and housing, which couplingnormally causes the housing to tend to wrap the clutch spring around theshaft and hold the door open, and means for overcoming the resistance ofthe compression member by forced movement of the shaft axially when aclosing force exerted on the door breaks this coupling and causesabutment with a portion of the opening from which it projects of theother end of the coiled spring clutch to open it and release the shaftso that the door can easily close.

Myers Mar. 1, 1927 Mallory May 11, 1948 Re.l6,565 2,441,278

